Kathy Vitzthum will graduate from Iowa State University next month – after 40 long semesters of course work.

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Kathy Vitzthum will graduate from Iowa State University next month – after 40 long semesters of course work, Yahoo! News reports.

Vitzthum, an accountant, began taking one class a semester back in 1992, when her boss said he would promote her to accountant from her receptionist job if she took some accounting courses. Caring for her grade-school-aged children and holding down a full-time job left Vitzthum little time to study.

But Vitzthum said she kept going largely thanks to a promise she made to her father before he died.

Her father wanted her to finish her college degree even though she had finished her accounting courses and would be 50 years old. She agreed to keep going with her education, and her father gave her the big graduation gift – an antique cabinet – early, because he knew he wouldn't be alive by the time she finished school.

It kept Vitzthum going: "Every time I looked at it, I said 'I have to finish,'" she said.

Eleven years later, she said she finally feels like she owns it.

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美國(guó)女子19年讀完大學(xué)

?????? 雅虎新聞報(bào)道，凱西?維茲頓在讀了40個(gè)學(xué)期的課程后，下月將從愛荷華州立大學(xué)畢業(yè)。

?????? 維茲頓是一名會(huì)計(jì)，她從1992年開始一學(xué)期學(xué)一門課程，那時(shí)她的老板承諾如果她學(xué)一些會(huì)計(jì)課程就把她從前臺(tái)提升為會(huì)計(jì)。但由于要照顧上小學(xué)的孩子們，又得全職工作，維茲頓能學(xué)習(xí)的時(shí)間很少。

?????? 但維茲頓說(shuō)她能夠堅(jiān)持下來(lái)是由于父親去世前她給父親的一個(gè)承諾。

?????? 她父親希望她能夠取得大學(xué)學(xué)位，即使到那時(shí)她可能已經(jīng)50歲了。她答應(yīng)父親繼續(xù)學(xué)業(yè)，父親提前給了她一份珍貴的畢業(yè)禮物——一個(gè)古老的櫥柜，因?yàn)樗浪床坏剿厴I(yè)的那一天了。

?????? 這使得維茲頓一直堅(jiān)持了下來(lái)，“每次看到它，我就跟自己說(shuō)，‘我必須完成學(xué)業(yè)，’”維茲頓說(shuō)。

?????? 11年后，她覺得自己真正擁有這份禮物了。

(China.org.cn May 3, 2011)